Highlighting issues and events, both current and historical, of the Irish Republican struggle.

Sunday, September 18, 2005

This Date in Irish History - September 18th

September 18th -

1851 - Patriot Anne Devlin died in Dublin. From a well-known nationalist family, Devlin was a close friend and comrade of Robert Emmet, and was witness to his execution. Despite both physical and mental torture, Anne refused to give evidence against Emmet.

A well-organized attack was made upon the police van which was conveying Colonel Kelly and Captain Deasy from the court after their remand, back to the gaol outside the city.The van was guarded by about a dozen policemen without fire-arms, and on the Hyde road the van was stopped by about fifty men, under command of O'Meara Allen, a well-known Fenian.Half of these men had loaded revolvers. They shot the horses, killed one of the police, named Bret, and drove the others off the van, while the armed party kept off the police and crowd, who tried to stop the attack.The others, with axes, hammers, and stones, smashed the van, and rescued the prisoners. They have not been re-captured. Allen and twenty-two other of the assailants were in custody by midnight.The military are guarding them in the Central Police Station. Several persons were wounded during the attack on the police van.Will the ruling classes ever learn wisdom and become, ere it is too late, convinced of the great social truth, that a people cannot with impunity be always crushed down by bad laws, and denied redress by an unsympathizing Government? Even in the ruling country the power of the Government or the vigilance of its officers, or the fidelity of its police, seems unable to cope with the organization.

1889 - Kathleen Behan (née Kearney) was born in Dublin. Kathleen was a folk singer, worked for Whitecross Republican Aid Assocociation, served as a housekeeper to Maud Gonne, and was a folk singer. She was the mother of Brian, Dominic and author Brendan Behan, and the sister of Peadar Kearney, author of the lyrics to "Amhrán na bhFiann".

1964 - Death of playwright Sean O’Casey. O'Casey was a major Irish dramatist. A committed nationalist and socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes. His plays include "The Shadow of a Gunman", "Juno and the Paycock", and "The Plough and the Stars".